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Jobs report for July: at least it's not getting any worse

by The Madeleine Brand Show

Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange before the opening bell on August 5, 2011 in New York City. Following a 500 point drop yesterday, markets were mixed in morning trading.Mario Tama/Getty Images

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According to the federal government's jobs report, 117,000 jobs were added in July, bringing the unemployment rate down slightly, to 9.1 percent. In other words, just enough to hold steady. The bit of good news caused markets to briefly rally, but they may not hold steady after a slide Thursday that sunk the Dow to its lowest point since October 2008. Investors are concerned about European debt and slow U.S. growth, prompting at least one columnist at the New York Times to ask (again), are we headed for a double-dip recession? Roben Farzad of Bloomberg Businessweek joins us to break down the numbers.

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About The Madeleine Brand Show

The Madeleine Brand Show, exclusively on 89.3 KPCC, 89.1 KUOR and 90.3 KVLA, captures the spirit of the West in a conversational, informal, witty style and examines the cultural issues people are buzzing about. Hosted by Madeleine Brand, and produced by Kristen Muller, Steve Proffitt and Sanden Totten, the show includes regular segments like Weird L.A. - highlighting a person, place or thing that you've never heard about, but probably should; Parenting on the Edge - a weekly discussion on the challenges and pitfalls of raising kids; as well as regular contributors like Luke Burbank, Rico Gagliano, Brendan Newnam and John Moe to help dissect culture, technology and business news.